During the summer of 1955, Lytle, Ambrose and Richards, who were paid on a set salary (as opposed to the other two Comets, pianist
Johnny Grande and steel guitar player
Billy Williamson, who were considered partners with Haley), requested a pay raise. According to the books
Bill Haley by John Swenson and
Sound and Glory by John W. Haley and John von Hoelle, their request was denied by either Haley's management or by Haley himself (accounts vary). During that summer, unknown to Haley, the trio recruited a couple of other musicians, and recorded a few demo tapes - including a version of a Haley composition, "Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie". This won the group a
recording contract with
Capitol Records and the group subsequently resigned from the Comets, although according to Swenson they agreed to help train the replacement musicians. The group's first recordings on Capitol came out in late 1955, and the band scored a few minor hits such as "Well Now, Dig This" and "Let's All Rock Together". In 1956, the Jodimars became one of the first rock and roll acts to take up residence in
Las Vegas showrooms. Soon after, they left Capitol and recorded for smaller labels with no success. By 1958, the band had virtually broken up, though Lytle attempted to revive the group with a series of demo recordings later that year, though he was the only member of the core band to actually take part in the recordings (members of
Ricky Nelson's band worked on the recording session instead) and they sat unreleased until 1994. By the 1960s, the Jodimars were only a memory, with Lytle going into
real estate, Ambrose becoming a casino
pit boss in Las Vegas, and Boccelli/Richards becoming a stage and movie actor. In 1987, the band reunited for a series of concerts in conjunction with a simultaneous reunion of the original members of Bill Haley's Comets. In 1989, Johnny Hale brought the original Comets to the UK as part of his Brean Sands Rock 'n' Roll Weekender. The Jodimars (Joey, Dick and Marshall) were backed by three members of the UK group
The Stargazers (Pete Davenport on lead guitar, Chris Gardner on piano, and Ricky Lee Brawn on drums) in a set which included their album in its entirety (12 songs) plus a few other later Jodimars' numbers, and was followed by a set as 'The Original Comets'. This remains the only billed appearance by the Jodimars since the 1960s. Lytle, Ambrose and Richards went on to tour the world as the Comets alongside pianist
Johnny Grande and guitarist
Franny Beecher, but included Jodimars songs in each show (most notably "Eat Your Heart Out, Annie" and "Well Now Dig This"). Lytle left the Comets in 2009, following the death of Grande in 2006 and Beecher's retirement from touring also in 2006 (Beecher died in February 2014), and continued to perform as a solo act until his death in May 2013, though he, Ambrose and Richards reunited in 2012 to accept the Comets' induction into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Marshall Lytle died on May 25, 2013 at the age of 89, but Ambrose and Richards continued to tour as the Comets. Richards died on July 12, 2019, at the age of 95. Joey Ambrose subsequently retired from touring and died in 2021. In 1963,
the Beatles recorded a version of the Jodimars' "Clarabella" for the
Pop Go the Beatles program for
BBC Radio, which appeared on the Apple/Parlophone/Capitol album
Live at the BBC in 1994, while the song "Well Now, Dig This" inspired the name of the
British music magazine,
Now Dig This. ==Discography==